The Latest: Austria: Bulgarian convicted of human smuggling

A Bulgarian national arrested after Austrian police found 20 migrants packed into the nearly airtight back of his truck has been found guilty of human smuggling and sentenced to five years in prison.

A migrant family walks towards a registration camp after entering Macedonia from Greece, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Austrian broadcaster ORF cited police as testifying that they found 20 Syrian, Iranian and Afghan nationals pressed tightly against each other in a shared space of less than 7 square meters (about 7 square yards) when they stopped the refrigeration truck in August.

The court in the city of Linz, west of Vienna, didn't identify the 41-year-old, in keeping with Austrian confidentiality laws. He was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty.

The truck was stopped only after a chase in which two patrol cars were rammed, injuring one officer.

___

5:35 p.m.

EU Council President Donald Tusk says the first priority in the European migrant crisis is to stem the flow and reduce illegal migration, while helping Greece and Macedonia where thousands of migrants have been stranded.

Tusk said Wednesday in Croatia the EU must restore the implementation of its Schengen rules that grant free movement inside the bloc's borderless zone, but envisage entry control on the outer rim.

Tusk says EU member states should "refuse entry to third-country nationals who do not meet the necessary conditions or who, although they were able to do so earlier, did not apply for asylum."

Tusk was visiting the nations along the so-called Balkan migrant corridor where tensions have risen over migrant pileup. Tusk says the crisis is pushing the EU "to the limits."

___

3:20 p.m.

The U.N. refugee agency is praising Greece's effort to take in refugees while scolding some of its European neighbors for suddenly slamming shut their borders and not keeping their promises — causing a "looming humanitarian crisis" on the continent.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said 25,000 people have been stranded in Greece after neighboring Macedonia and other European countries closed their borders to refugees, many trying to reach more welcoming countries like Germany and Sweden.

That's caused a backlog with some 1,800 people — mostly Syrians and Iraqis — pouring into Greece from Turkey across the Aegean each day.

Fleming said Wednesday that only 325 people have been relocated under a European Union agreement last year in which members pledged to relocate 160,000. So far, 1,539 places have been made available.

____

3:05 p.m.

Germany says the number of migrants coming across the border with Austria daily is now in the hundreds, a sharp reduction from last fall.

Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said Wednesday that while the figure fluctuates greatly "lately it's been in mid-three digits."

The drop from several thousand migrants daily last year is partly due to the closure of land borders along the so-called Balkan migration route to Germany. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin now plans to step up its efforts to warn migrants of the financial and health risks they are taking on when they set out for Germany.

Information campaigns in the migrants' home and transit countries will also note that "many of them won't have a realistic chance of staying here in Germany."

___

2:20 p.m.

The European Union's head office wants to swiftly push through a proposal to earmark 700 million euros ($760 million) in humanitarian aid to deal with the refugee crisis.

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides says Wednesday that 300 million euros ($325 million) would be earmarked for this year and be used "where it is most needed," alluding to Greece and the nations along the Balkan trail that refugees use to move into the heartland of the 28-nation bloc The overall total would cover three years.

Stylianides says the funds would not be diverted from aid programs aimed at non-EU nations.

His proposal will still need to be approved by the European parliament and the member states. EU leaders meet Monday for a summit focusing on the migration issue.

___

1:40 p.m.

Macedonia has intermittently opened its border with Greece to a tiny trickle of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, leaving about 10,000 more people camped on the Greek side, with more arriving daily.

The border bottleneck has left at least 25,000 people stranded in Greece, the first European country that migrants reach in smuggling boats from Turkey. As the prosperous but divided continent flails in search of a solution to the migration crisis, individual countries led by Austria have imposed refugee caps that have caused a domino effect down the Balkan migrant corridor, which was traversed by a million people over the past year.

Greek police say Macedonian police opened the Idomeni crossing at midnight Tuesday and at 7 a.m. Wednesday, each time for two hours. They admitted a total of 170 people from Syria and Iraq — the only nationalities allowed to continue north.

Macedonia says it will only allow in as many refugees as Serbia, its northern neighbor, accepts each day.

A family walks towards a registration camp after entering Macedonia from Greece, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A family walk towards a registration camp after entering Macedonia from Greece, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A migrant man in a wheelchair enters Macedonia from Greece, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A migrant mother feeds her baby after she entered Macedonia from Greece near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A migrant couple with their children enter Macedonia from Greece near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Refugees wait next to the fence on the Macedonian side of the border as they wait to go back to Greece near southern Macedonia's town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A man sleeps on the ground as refugees and migrants wait to be allowed to cross the border to Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

People sleep on railway tracks as they wait to be allowed to cross the border to Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Refugees from Iraq sleep on the ground as they wait to be allowed to cross the border to Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A Greek police officer checks registration papers as refugees crowd to cross the border from the Greek side to Macedonia at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Refugees crowd before crossing the border from the Greek side to Macedonia at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Refugees stand near makeshift fires as they wait to be allowed to cross the border to Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Refugees stand near a makeshift fire as they wait to be allowed to cross the border to Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A woman lays down in a tent as refugees and migrants wait to be allowed to cross the border to Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni on, Tuesday, March, 1 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Bart Kowalski, a Polish member of the search and rescue team from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), a Malta-based organization, aimed to rescue migrants on sea, uses the binoculars to scan the sea as he stands on the deck of the rescue vessel patrolling between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in Greece, unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

A stranded migrant asks for food as he sits behind a fence reinforced with razor wire, on the border line with Greece near the southern Macedonia's town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Thousand of refugees and migrants wait to cross from Greece to Macedonia to continue their journey to central and northern Europe.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A doll lies in the mud at a refugee camp in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni on, Tuesday, March, 1 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Children sit outside at a shelter area for migrants at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Children play at a shelter area at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Newly arrived migrant children peer form behind the tinted window of a bus driving migrants to a shelter area at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman tries to comfort a crying child at a shelter area for migrants at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A member of the Swedish Sea Rescue Society organisation, targeted to rescue migrants at sea, walks on the team's speedboats as they visit the rescue vessel MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organization, also aimed to rescue migrants on sea, patrolling on the Aegean Sea, between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Wednesday, March 2, 2016.The Greek government said it has requested 480 million euros in aid for the refugee crisis from the EU, under an emergency plan that foresees about 100,000 people being stranded in the country. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Dr. Alessandra Milazzo, centre, of Italy, a member from MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organisation, aimed to rescue migrants at sea, places ice on the head of Jan Pontho, 50, right, of Sweden, a crew member of the Swedish Sea Rescue Society organisation, targeted also to rescue migrants on sea, during a visit at the MOAS rescue vessel, patrolling on the Aegean Sea, between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Wednesday, March 2, 2016.VThe Greek government said it has requested 480 million euros in aid for the refugee crisis from the EU, under an emergency plan that foresees about 100,000 people being stranded in the country. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

A man sits by the sea, outside a shelter area at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A banner is held up that reads: "Who Spreads Fear is a Terrorist", near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, as the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico visits Macedonia. Fico visited the Gevgelija border crossing where Slovak policemen are helping manage the flow of migrants between Greece and Macedonia. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Migrants stand in front of their dwelling facing French riot police in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, France, Wednesday March 2, 2016. More than a dozen humanitarian organizations on Tuesday accused authorities of brutally evicting migrants from their makeshift dwellings in a sprawling camp in northern France, as fiery protests of the demolition continued. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

A man sits covered in a blanket at a shelter area at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman sits at a shelter area at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Wednesday March 2, 2016. Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)